Report: Clay Aiken considering run for Congress

By Jake Miller

January 3, 2014 / 10:50 AM
/ CBS News

“American Idol” alumnus, LGBT activist, and…member of
Congress?

Stranger things have happened.

Clay Aiken, a singer who secured second place on “American Idol” in 2003, is
considering a run for Congress in North Carolina’s 2nd congressional district,
two Democratic sources familiar with his plans told the Washington Blade.

Aiken, a 35-year-old native of Raleigh, N.C., has already taken some very
preliminary steps toward a run, according to the Blade’s sources, who spoke on
condition of anonymity. One source said Aiken had talked with the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee, which is tasked with recruiting and boosting
promising Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives. That same
source also said Aiken has consulted with Betsy Conti, a political strategist
in the Tarheel State who has worked with former Gov. Bev Purdue, D-N.C., and
former Vice President Al Gore.

A second source told
the Blade that Aiken met with pollsters at Hart Research Associates last month
in Washington, D.C., to pore over survey data.

The seat is currently occupied by Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C., who was swept
into office with the tea party wave in 2010. Another Democrat, former North
Carolina Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco, has already formed a campaign
committee to explore a run, and he is expected to announce his candidacy on
Monday.

Since departing American Idol in 2003, Aiken has pursued a successful
music and stage career, selling more than six million copies of his albums and
performing on Broadway.

He’s also dabbled in activism: He co-founded the National Inclusion Project,
which aims to help disabled children, and he appeared at a Capitol Hill
briefing in 2010 to urge lawmakers to pass anti-bullying legislation that
protects LGBT students.

Aiken came out of the closet in 2008 with an appearance on the cover of
“People” magazine alongside his infant son, Parker Foster Aiken.